John Scott "Jack" Morris is an American former professional baseball starting
pitcher, and played between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers of
Major League Baseball, winning 254 games throughout his career. Armed with a
fastball, a slider, and a forkball, Morris was a five-time All-Star, and
played on four World Series Championship teams. While he gave up the most hits,
most earned runs, and most home runs of any pitcher in the 1980s, he also
started the most games, pitched the most innings, and had the most wins of any
pitcher in that decade. In 2015, Morris began working as the
color commentator for the Minnesota Twins on Fox Sports North. He has also
been an analyst for MLB broadcasts on Fox Sports One.
Playing career = Detroit Tigers=
Morris attended Brigham Young University and was drafted by the Tigers in the
fifth round of the 1976 draft. He was first called up to the Detroit Tigers in
1977 after Mark Fidrych was placed on the disabled list with an injury. Morris
broke into the Tigers' pitching rotation in 1979, posting a 17–7 record and a
3.29 ERA and establishing himself as the ace of the Detroit staff. Morris, along
with catcher Lance Parrish, shortstop Alan Trammell, second baseman Lou
Whitaker, outfielder Kirk Gibson, and manager Sparky Anderson, played a
notable role in turning the Tigers into a contending team for most of the 1980s.
In 1980, Morris learned to throw the split-finger fastball from newly-hired
pitching coach Roger Craig, and it became an effective pitch for the rest
of Morris' career. Despite playing for the notorious
"Captain Hook", so named because of his tendency to pull his starters at the
first sign of weakness, Morris was known for finishing what he started. He racked
up 175 complete games in his career. In 10 of his 12 full seasons as a Tiger, he
compiled double-digit complete game totals. In 1983 alone, Jack completed 20
of his 37 starts. That year, he led the league in innings pitched, batters faced
and strikeouts, while posting his first 20-win season.
On April 7, 1984, Morris no-hit the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park,
beginning what would be an excellent season for both him and the Tigers. The
no-hitter was the first by a Tiger since Jim Bunning in 1958. By the end of the
1984 campaign, he had notched 19 wins and a 3.60 ERA, leading Detroit into the
postseason. He scored a win over the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS, and
added two more complete-game victories in the World Series against the San
Diego Padres as the Tigers concluded their wire-to-wire 1984 campaign with
the World Championship. While teammate Alan Trammell was named the World Series
MVP, Jack was given the Babe Ruth Award for most outstanding performance in the
1984 postseason. In 1986, Morris racked up 21 wins, and
had a stretch from July 9–18 in which he threw three consecutive complete game
shutouts. But he was overshadowed that year by eventual Cy Young Award winner
Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox, who went 24-4. The Tigers headed to the
postseason again in 1987 behind a team-leading 18 wins from Morris, but
this time Jack's postseason performance was below expectations as Detroit lost
the ALCS to the eventual World Champion Minnesota Twins. Despite a sub par
season in 1989 when he made only 24 starts and won just 6 games, he still
finished the 1980s with 162 wins, the most by a major league pitcher during
the decade. In 1990, his final season in Detroit, Morris lost a career high 18
games, though he also led the Tiger staff with 15 wins.
Morris had a 3-1 post-season record as a Tiger, with a 2.73 ERA.
= Minnesota Twins= In 1991, Morris signed a one-year
contract with his hometown Minnesota Twins. He enjoyed another great season,
posting 18 wins with a 3.43 ERA, and an even better postseason after Minnesota
won the AL West. Morris won both of his starts over the Toronto Blue Jays in the
ALCS, and his team went on to face the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. Jack
started for the Twins three times in the series, going 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA,
making his final outing in the deciding Game 7. In a postseason performance for
the ages, the 36-year-old hurler threw 10 innings of shutout baseball against
the Braves, as the Twins won the World title on a 10th-inning single by Gene
Larkin that scored Dan Gladden. Morris was named the World Series MVP for his
fantastic performance, and joined fellow pitcher Sandy Koufax as the only players
to win the Babe Ruth Award twice. He holds the record for most wins by a Twin
in a single postseason, with four acquired in 1991.
= Toronto Blue Jays= Following the 1991 season, Morris signed
with the Toronto Blue Jays. He earned 21 wins for the second time in his career,
though he rode the wave of superior run support from his offense, given his 4.04
ERA that year. The Blue Jays reached the 1992 World Series against the Braves.
Despite a subpar post-season performance, Morris won a third World
Series ring as Toronto beat Atlanta in six games. He won a fourth ring in 1993,
as the Blue Jays repeated as World Champions with a victory over the
Philadelphia Phillies in six games. However, Morris was not an important
factor in the Blue Jays World Series repeat: he pitched poorly for the team
in the regular season, finishing 7-12 with a 6.19 ERA, and was not used at all
in the postseason due to a season-ending injury.
On Tuesday, April 6, 1993, Morris set a major league record by making his 14th
consecutive opening day start, an impressive achievement since he played
on numerous title-contending teams. The opening day start is usually given to
either the best pitcher in the rotation or the pitcher with the highest level of
respect among the players and coaches. = Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds=
He joined the Cleveland Indians in 1994, but was released by the team on August
9, three days before the season was ended by a strike. Morris finished the
season with a 10-6 record, but an ERA of 5.60. After an abortive attempt at a
comeback with the Cincinnati Reds during spring training of 1995, Morris retired.
In 1996, however, he made a brief return to professional baseball, this time
playing with the St. Paul Saints of the independent Northern League. The
41-year-old Morris went 5-1 in 10 starts, with a 2.69 ERA, before retiring
for good. = Salary=
Morris was the highest-paid pitcher in the American League on at least 4
occasions: 1987, 1988, 1991, and 1993. = Wildness=
Although it likely helped his strikeout totals, the split-finger pitch was also
responsible for Morris leading the league in wild pitches on six separate
occasions. His 206 wild pitches in his career rank eighth in baseball history.
= Awards and highlights= 1981 – The Sporting News Pitcher of the
Year 1984 – Babe Ruth Award
1991 – Babe Ruth Award 1991 – World Series Most Valuable Player
All-Star: 1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1991 AL Wins Leader: 1981, 1992
AL Strikeouts Leader: 1983 AL Shutouts Leader: 1986
Hold the major league record for consecutive opening day starts, with 14
Ranks No. 8 on the all time MLB list for wild pitches with 206
Ranks No. 1 in Detroit Tigers history for wild pitches and balks.
Holds Tigers' all-time record for most times leading the team in wins – 11.
Jack Morris is the only pitcher with 2,000-plus strikeouts who did not face a
single pitcher in his career. Post-career activities
Morris has spent time as a color analyst for the Minnesota Twins. He also spent
time in Lakeland, Florida as a part-time coach for the Detroit Tigers during
spring training. In 2013, Morris joined Sportsnet as a
color analyst for Toronto Blue Jays radio broadcasts, as well as making
appearances on television broadcasts. In 2014, he will serve as a pre- and
post-game analyst for Twins telecasts on Fox Sports North and will be a regular
on-air contributor on KTWN-FM and the Twins Radio Network.
On February 10, 2015, it was announced that Morris was hired as a color
commentator for the Detroit Tigers on Fox Sports Detroit, along with former
teammate Kirk Gibson. Morris is known for his love of hunting
and fishing, especially in his native Minnesota.
Hall of Fame candidacy Morris has been eligible for the
National Baseball Hall of Fame since 2000. From 2000 to 2003, he never
received greater than 30% of the vote. He received 40% of the vote for the
first time in 2006. In 2010, he received 52.3% of the vote. In 2012, he received
67% of the vote, and in 2013 he received 67.7% of the vote. On January 8, 2014,
Morris only received 61.5% of the vote in his last year of eligibility, and can
now be considered for the Veterans Committee Expansion in 2017.
See also 1984 Detroit Tigers season
List of MLB individual streaks List of Major League Baseball leaders in
career wins List of Major League Baseball strikeout
champions List of Major League Baseball wins
champions List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time Best pitching seasons by a Detroit Tiger
References External links
Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs,
or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference
Baseball Library The Baseball Page
1991 World Series | Game 7